Mission to Montenegro newsletter
Blog entry for 17 October 2013
October 2013 Mission to Montenegro Newsletter
All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you,
O Lord, and shall glorify your name.
For you are great and do wondrous things;
You alone are God. Ps. 86:9-10
May your deeds be shown to your servants...
After a busy summer of teams and evangelistic outreaches, we are all enjoying the rhythm and routines of autumn. Just a few highlights of God's work here in Nikšič this past month:
- Stan is now preaching a new series through Nehemiah in our morning services and the book of Jude in the evening. We also regularly read through the Scriptures every service, so that everyone who attends will eventually hear the whole Bible. This practice gives the young men of the church the opportunity to grow in godly leadership by studying, reading, and giving brief comments on a Bible passage (currently from the books of Jeremiah and the Gospel of Mark).
- The Transit Team (from OM) spent a full week helping our elderly and widows with sawing, chopping, hauling, and stacking firewood for the cold days ahead. Evenings were spent reaching out to believers and unbelievers including a wonderful informal concert of music, singing, and testimonies.
- God seems to be bringing new connections and relationships with European evangelical Christians. Last month, Stan met several Balkan pastors at the Samaritan's Purse conference; this month God gave us the opportunity to meet representatives from the European Christian Political Movement. Also, Stan has been asked to be one of the representatives for Montenegro in the European Lausanne Network and will be attending, Deo volente, the Lausanne Conference in May.
Upcoming Ministry and Family News
- Our one-on-one discipleship will be expanding to include meeting with young believers with the dual aim of equipping them to disciple others AND to translate discipleship materials from other languages into the local language.
- As a major ministry, the Christmas Shoebox project always has something to be done. Currently, plans are being made for the logistics of receiving the gifts as well as brainstorming new ways to continue follow-up after the shoebox distribution.
- Although all five children have been stateside since August, it is only this week that we find ourselves as true "empty-nesters" with Saša moving into his own flat.
Stan and Vicki Surbatovich
Mission to Montenegro
Prayer and Praise Bulletin Points:
- Praise for the freedom to preach God's mighty word. Pray, as the Apostle Paul requested, that God might open doors for Stan to clearly declare the mystery of Christ. (Col. 4:3,4)
- Praise for the good fruits of the Transit team. Pray for their continuing ministry throughout Europe.
- Praise for the connections God has brought about with other European evangelical believers. Pray that we might all aid one another as brethren united by Christ to bring Him honor and glory in our respective callings.
- Praise for the desire of the young believers to grow as Christians and to be able to disciple others. Pray for our wisdom in training and mentoring this next generation of Christian leaders, teachers, and servants of the Most High.
- Praise for the generousity of God's people in providing the Christmas shoeboxes. Pray that this ministry would lead to further ongoing contact with the children to learn more about Christ.
- Praise that God provided a wonderful housing situation for Saša. Pray that his ministry amongst the teens would grow and mature. Pray also for us as we enter into a new season of life, that God would show us the best use of our time, talents, and home.
- Praise that Milijana has settled very well into her new life at university, finding a good church home as well as a circle of friends.
- Please pray and consider donating frequent flyer miles as we must fly all three of our university students home for the Christmas holidays and some for the summer. If interested, please contact us at stan.surbatovich@gmail.com for more details of how you might help in this practical manner. Thank you so much.